Alabama Department of Archives and History

Alabama Bronze Map

A Guide to the Images of the Bronze Map on the Lawn of the Alabama Department of Archives and History

38. Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-1956
Montgomery, Montgomery County

Many regard the bus boycott as the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement. The boycott was sparked by
Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus on December 1, 1955. African Americans
refused to ride the city buses for more than a year, until the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of the
city buses in December 1956.